Ghana Wells Challenge Update
Congratulations! As of the end of 2018, we have successfully raised the funds necessary to drill three new wells in Ghana, West Africa. On behalf of the many people who will have clean water in 2019, we thank you! As this issue of the St. Anthony Companion went to press, arrangements were being made for the installation of the wells. We will have pictures and stories from the lives of those you’ve touched very, very soon! For now, know your prayers and financial support are making a big difference in the lives of many of our brothers and sisters in Ghana, West Africa.
Laboratory Equipment for Ghana’s Newest Hospital
This year, the Companions of St. Anthony want to provide laboratory equipment for the newlyconstructed Nyameakola Hospital in Jema, Ghana. Completed in December 2017, the hospital is located 37 miles from the next nearest hospital. Before this hospital was built, women died in labor, men died from work accidents, and children died from simple illnesses.
Jema is a poor village, unable to afford the high cost of building a hospital. Yet, with the help of the Friars, led by Fr. Joseph Blay, OFM Conv., the residents of Jema committed to do whatever was necessary to bring healthcare to their village. The citizens of Jema performed all construction work that could be done without special skills or heavy equipment, such as digging foundation trenches, excavation for septic tanks, carrying sand and gravel. In addition to the manual labor, the villagers donated $10,500, over 10% of the hospital’s cost.
With the hospital complete, the in-house laboratory remains to be finished. The lack of equipment forces many sick people to be sent to distant hospitals. To analyze ordinary samples and remove the difficulty and economic hardship of travel for people, the laboratory needs items such as microscopes, centrifuges, ultrasound machines and basic kits for midwives.
To help, the Companions of St. Anthony seek to raise $20,000 for the necessary supplies to outfit a basic clinical laboratory. In the Akan language of the area, “Nyameakola” means “God is able” or “God can.”
For more information, or to donate to this special effort, visit our web site at www.franciscanmission.org.
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